The present invention relates to flavored chewing gum compositions having improved flavor perception. More particularly, it relates to gum compositions containing unsaturated, purified monoglycerides to prolong the flavor release of the gum.
Over the years, a considerable amount of developmental activities have involved the preparation of gum compositions with improved flavor release characteristics. One desired outcome has been to prolong the release of flavor so as to make the gum more enjoyable to chew over a longer period of time.
Some efforts have been made to prevent the flavor oils from becoming bound in the gum base, from which they are only partially released. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,752,481 to Dokuzovic discloses an emulsion system wherein the flavor is premixed with an emulsifier and an alkyl polyol before it is mixed into the gum. Suggested emulsifiers included fatty acid esters and mono and diglycerides, specifically glycerol monooleate, propylene glycol monostearate, glycerol monostearate, lecithin and sorbitan monostearate.
Another approach is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,930,026 to Clark, which teaches sorbing the flavor on a hydrophilic colloid in conjunction with a surfactant, such as polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monostearate, polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monooleate, fatty acid monoglycerides or fatty acid diglycerides.
Some glycerides have been suggested for special uses in gum. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,379,169 to Reggio et al. discloses the use of plasticizing agents to be employed with gums made with gum base having high levels of ester gums. The plasticizers, which are said to provide film forming properties important in bubble gum, include fatty acids, glycerol esters of fatty acids and polyglycerol esters of fatty acids, with glycerol monooleate being preferred.
Monoglycerides have been commonly used as softeners for gum base. Monoglycerides are fatty molecules which consist of a single fatty acid molecule esterified to a glycerol molecule. The term "monoglycerides" is somewhat of a misnomer. In the past, the monoglycerides used in chewing gum were mixtures of mono, di and triglycerides of fatty acids esters of varying degrees of saturation and unsaturation, reflecting their natural origin. Saturated glycerides, like glycerol monostearate, glycerol monopalmitate, etc. are commonly used in chewing gum as emulsifiers. These saturated monoglycerides contain different levels of di and triglycerides, depending on their origin.
It has been known that through purification processes, such as molecular distillation, mono, di and triglycerides could be separated. However, this adds to the cost of the monoglycerides, and since no benefit was expected from the use of more purified monoglycerides in chewing gum, the unseparated product is used.